Tackling the Mormon Myth about Alice Cooper

If you’re Mormon, you’ve probably heard the myth that Alice Cooper was a Mormon. Most of you have probably dismissed the myth as complete hogwash. Well, it turns out there is an element of truth to the myth. For example, his father’s middle name is Moroni and his grandfather was an apostle! Yes it is true!

Alice Cooper was born with the name Vincent Damon Furnier in Detroit, Michigan. His father was a preacher by the name of Ether Moroni Furnier for The Church of Jesus Christ, based in Monongahela, Pennsylvania. Cooper’s grandfather Thurman Sylvester Furnier served as an apostle for the church. The church is also known as the Bickertonite church, and has roots with Sidney Rigdon. According to Cooper’s biography, he was active in the church until the age of 11 or 12. His family moved with his family to Phoenix, Arizona when he was about 16 years old.

So, I thought it might be nice to give some information about his church. As you may remember, just prior to Joseph Smith’s death, he was running for President of the United States. His Vice Presidential candidate was Sidney Rigdon. The US Constitution prohibits the President and Vice President from residing in the same state, so Joseph sent Sidney on a mission to his home state of Pennsylvania to establish residency. Rigdon settled near Pittsburgh (the place of his birth) when he received the news of Joseph’s death. Rigdon was there just a few weeks.